Video coding method using at least evaluated visual quality and related video coding apparatus

ABSTRACT

One exemplary video coding method includes at least the following steps: utilizing a visual quality evaluation module for evaluating visual quality based on data involved in a coding loop; and referring to at least the evaluated visual quality for deciding a target configuration of at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit. Another exemplary video coding method includes at least the following steps: utilizing a visual quality evaluation module for evaluating visual quality based on data involved in a coding loop; and referring to at least the evaluated visual quality for deciding a target coding parameter associated with at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit in video coding.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 61/776,053, filed on Mar. 11, 2013 and incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The disclosed embodiments of the present invention relate to video coding, and more particularly, to a video coding method using at least evaluated visual quality determined by one or more visual quality metrics and a related video coding apparatus.

The conventional video coding standards generally adopt a block based (or coding unit based) coding technique to exploit spatial redundancy. For example, the basic approach is to divide the whole source frame into a plurality of blocks (coding units), perform prediction on each block (coding unit), transform residues of each block (coding unit) using discrete cosine transform, and perform quantization and entropy encoding. Besides, a reconstructed frame is generated in a coding loop to provide reference pixel data used for coding following blocks (coding units). For certain video coding standards, in-loop filter(s) may be used for enhancing the image quality of the reconstructed frame. For example, a de-blocking filter is included in an H.264 coding loop, and a de-blocking filter and a sample adaptive offset (SAO) filter are included in an HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) coding loop.

Generally speaking, the coding loop is composed of a plurality of processing stages, including transform, quantization, intra/inter prediction, etc. Based on the conventional video coding standards, one processing stage selects a video coding mode based on pixel-based distortion value derived from a source frame (i.e., an input frame to be encoded) and a reference frame (i.e., a reconstructed frame generated during the coding procedure). For example, the pixel-based distortion value may be a sum of absolute differences (SAD), a sum of transformed differences (SATD), or a sum of square differences (SSD). However, the pixel-based distortion value merely considers pixel value differences between pixels of the source frame and the reference frame, and sometimes is not correlated to the actual visual quality of a reconstructed frame generated from decoding an encoded frame. Specifically, based on experimental results, different processed images, each derived from an original image and having the same pixel-based distortion (e.g., the same mean square error (MSE)) with respect to the original image, may present different visual quality to a viewer. That is, the smaller pixel-based distortion does not mean better visual quality in the human visual system. Hence, an encoded frame generated based on video coding modes each selected due to a smallest pixel-based distortion value does not guarantee that a reconstructed frame generated from decoding the encoded frame would have the best visual quality.

SUMMARY

In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a video coding method using at least evaluated visual quality obtained by one or more visual quality metrics and a related video coding apparatus are proposed.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an exemplary video coding method is disclosed. The exemplary video coding method includes at least the following steps: utilizing a visual quality evaluation module for evaluating visual quality based on data involved in a coding loop; and referring to at least the evaluated visual quality for deciding a target configuration of at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, another exemplary video coding method is disclosed. The another exemplary video coding method includes at least the following steps: utilizing a visual quality evaluation module for evaluating visual quality based on data involved in a coding loop; and referring to at least the evaluated visual quality for deciding a target coding parameter associated with at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit in video coding.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, an exemplary video coding apparatus is disclosed. The exemplary video coding apparatus includes a visual quality evaluation module and a coding circuit. The visual quality evaluation module is arranged to evaluate visual quality based on data involved in a coding loop. The coding circuit has the coding loop included therein, and is arranged to refer to at least the evaluated visual quality for deciding a target configuration of at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, another exemplary video coding apparatus is disclosed. The another exemplary video coding apparatus includes a visual quality evaluation module and a coding circuit. The visual quality evaluation module is arranged to evaluate visual quality based on data involved in a coding loop. The coding circuit has the coding loop included therein, and is arranged to refer to at least the evaluated visual quality for deciding a target coding parameter associated with at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit in video coding.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a video coding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating inter modes for a coding unit to be configured by the video coding apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating intra 4×4 modes for a coding unit to be configured by the video coding apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating intra 16×16 modes for a coding unit to be configured by the video coding apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating partition modes for a prediction unit to be configured by the video coding apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating partition modes for a transform unit to be configured by the video coding apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a video coding method according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a video coding method according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain terms are used throughout the description and following claims to refer to particular components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, manufacturers may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following description and in the claims, the terms “include” and “comprise” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “include, but not limited to . . . ”. Also, the term “couple” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct electrical connection. Accordingly, if one device is coupled to another device, that connection may be through a direct electrical connection, or through an indirect electrical connection via other devices and connections.

The concept of the present invention is to incorporate characteristics of a human visual system into a video coding procedure to improve the video compression efficiency or visual quality. More specifically, visual quality evaluation is involved in the video coding procedure such that a reconstructed frame generated from decoding an encoded frame is capable of having enhanced visual quality. Further details of the proposed visual quality based video coding design are described as below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a video coding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The video coding apparatus 100 is used to encode a source frame IMG_(IN) to generate a bitstream BS carrying encoded frame information corresponding to the source frame IMG_(IN). In this embodiment, the video coding apparatus 100 includes a coding circuit 102 and a visual quality evaluation module 104. By way of example, but not limitation, the architecture of the coding circuit 102 may be configured based on any conventional video encoding architecture. It should be noted that the coding circuit 102 may follow the conventional video encoding architecture to have a plurality of processing stages implemented therein; however, this by no means implies that each of the processing stages included in the coding circuit 102 must be implemented using a conventional design. For example, any of the processing stages that is associated with the visual quality evaluation performed by the visual quality evaluation module 104 and/or is affected/controlled by the visual quality obtained by the visual quality evaluation module 104 still falls within the scope of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the coding circuit 102 includes a coding loop composed of a splitting module 111, a subtractor (i.e., an adder configured to perform a subtraction operation) 112, a transform module 113, a quantization module 114, an inverse quantization module 116, an inverse transform module 117, an adder 118, a de-blocking filter 119, a sample adaptive offset (SAO) filter 120, a frame buffer 121, an inter prediction module 122, and an intra prediction module 123, where the inter prediction module 122 includes a motion estimation unit 124 and a motion compensation unit 125. The coding circuit 102 further includes an entropy coding module 115 arranged to generate the bitstream BS by performing entropy encoding upon quantized coefficients generated from the quantization module 114. It should be noted that one or both of the de-blocking filter 119 and the SAO filter 120 may be omitted/bypassed for certain applications. That is, the de-blocking filter 119 and/or the SAO filter 120 may be optional, depending upon actual design requirement. As a person skilled in the pertinent art should readily understand fundamental operations of the processing stages included in the coding circuit 102, further description is omitted here for brevity. Concerning one or more of the processing stages that are affected/controlled by the visual quality determined by the visual quality evaluation module 104, further description will be given as below.

The key feature of the present invention is using the visual quality evaluation module 104 for evaluating visual quality based on data involved in the coding loop of the coding circuit 102. In one embodiment, the data involved in the coding loop and processed by the visual quality evaluation module 104 may be raw data of the source frame IMG_(IN). In another embodiment, the data involved in the coding loop and processed by the visual quality evaluation module 104 may be processed data derived from raw data of the source frame IMG_(IN). For example, the processed data used for evaluate the visual quality may be transformed coefficients generated by the transform module 113, quantized coefficients generated by the quantization module 114, reconstructed pixel data before the optional de-blocking filter 119, reconstructed pixel data after the optional de-blocking filter 119, reconstructed pixel data before the optional SAO filter 120, reconstructed pixel data after the optional SAO filter 120, reconstructed pixel data stored in the frame buffer 121, motion-compensated pixel data generated by the motion compensation unit 125, or intra-predicted pixel data generated by the intra prediction module 123.

The visual quality evaluation performed by the visual quality evaluation module 104 may calculate one or more visual quality metrics to decide the evaluated visual quality. For example, the evaluated visual quality is derived from checking at least one image characteristic that affects human visual perception, and the at least one image characteristic may include sharpness, noise, blur, edge, dynamic range, blocking artifact, mean intensity (e.g., brightness/luminance), color temperature, scene composition (e.g., landscape, portrait, night scene, etc.), human face, animal presence, image content that attracts more or less interest (e.g., region of interest (ROI)), spatial masking (i.e., human's visual insensitivity of more complex texture), temporal masking (i.e., human's visual insensitivity of high-speed moving object), or frequency masking (i.e., human's visual insensitivity of higher pixel value variation). By way of example, the noise metric may be obtained by calculating an ISO 15739 visual noise value VN, where VN=σ_(L*)+0.852·σ_(u*)+0.323·σ_(u*) Alternatively, the noise metric may be obtained by calculating other visual noise metric, such as an S-CIELAB metric, a vSNR (visual signal-to-noise ratio) metric, or a Keelan NPS (noise power spectrum) based metric. The sharpness/blur metric may be obtained by measuring edge widths. The edge metric may be a ringing metric obtained by measuring ripples or oscillations around edges.

In one exemplary design, the visual quality evaluation module 104 calculates a single visual quality metric (e.g., one of the aforementioned visual quality metrics) according to the data involved in the coding loop of the coding circuit 102, and determines each evaluated visual quality solely based on the single visual quality metric. In other words, each evaluated visual quality may be obtained by referring to a single visual quality metric only.

In another exemplary design, the visual quality evaluation module 104 calculates a plurality of distinct visual quality metrics (e.g., many of the aforementioned visual quality metrics) according to the data involved in the coding loop of the coding circuit 102, and determines each evaluated visual quality based on the distinct visual quality metrics. In other words, each evaluated visual quality may be obtained by referring to a composition of multiple visual quality metrics. For example, the visual quality evaluation module 104 maybe configured to assign a plurality of pre-defined weighting factors to multiple visual quality metrics (e.g., a noise metric and a sharpness metric), and decide one evaluated visual quality by a weighted sum derived from the weighting factors and the visual quality metrics. For another example, the visual quality evaluation module 104 may employ a Minkowski equation to determine a plurality of non-linear weighting factors for the distinct visual quality metrics, respectively; and then determine one evaluated visual quality by combining the distinct visual quality metrics according to respective non-linear weighting factors. Specifically, based on the Minkowski equation, the evaluated visual quality ΔQ_(m) is calculated using following equation:

${{\Delta \; Q_{m}} = \left( {\sum\limits_{i}^{\;}\; \left( {\Delta \; Q_{i}} \right)^{n_{m}}} \right)^{1/n_{m}}},{where}$ ${n_{m} = {1 + 2}}{{\cdot {\tanh \left( \frac{\left( {\Delta \; Q} \right)_{\max}}{16.9} \right)}},}$

ΔQ_(i) is derived from each of the distinct visual quality metrics, and 16.9 is a single universal parameter based on psychophysical experiments. For yet another example, the visual quality evaluation module 104 may employ a training-based manner (e.g., a support vector machine (SVM)) to determine a plurality of trained weighting factors for the distinct visual quality metrics, respectively; and then determines one evaluated visual quality by combining the distinct visual quality metrics according to respective trained weighting factors. Specifically, supervised learning models with associated learning algorithms are employed to analyze the distinct visual quality metrics and recognized patterns, and accordingly determine the trained weighting factors.

After the evaluated visual quality is generated by the visual quality evaluation module 104, the evaluated visual quality is referenced by the coding circuit 102 to control/configure one or more of the processing stages within the coding circuit 102. As the evaluated visual quality is involved in making the video coding mode decision, the source frame IMG_(IN) is encoded based on characteristics of the human visual system to thereby allow a decoded/reconstructed frame to have enhanced visual quality.

In a first application, the coding circuit 102 may be arranged to refer to the evaluated visual quality decided by the visual quality evaluation 104 for deciding a target configuration of at least one of a coding unit at the splitting module 111, a transform unit at the transform module 113 and a prediction unit at the intra prediction module 123/inter prediction module 122, where the evaluated visual quality in this case may provide visual quality information for candidate video coding modes. In an alternative design, both of the evaluated visual quality (which is generated based on data involved in the coding loop) and the pixel-based distortion (which is generated based on at least a portion of raw data of the source frame IMG_(IN) and at least a portion of processed data derived from the raw data of the source frame IMG_(IN)) are used to decide the target configuration of at least one of the coding unit at the splitting module 111, the transform unit at the transform module 113 and the prediction unit at the intra prediction module 123/inter prediction module 122, where the evaluated visual quality in this case may provide visual quality information for candidate video coding modes, and the pixel-based distortion in this case may provide distortion information for candidate video coding mode modes. Further details are described as below.

Concerning the splitting module 111, the evaluated visual quality (each is determined based on a single visual quality metric or a composition of multiple visual quality metrics) may be referenced to decide a best video coding mode for a coding unit. Specifically, the splitting module 111 may refer to evaluated visual quality determined by the visual quality evaluation module 104 for each candidate inter mode and each candidate intra mode to decide which one of candidate inter modes and candidate intra modes should be selected for a coding unit. Taking the video coding modes for a coding unit as specified in an H.264 standard for example, the inter modes include four MB-modes and four 8×8-modes as shown in FIG. 2, and the intra modes include nine 4×4 modes as shown in FIG. 3 and four 16×16 modes as shown in FIG. 4. The conventional video coding design calculates pixel-based distortion value Distortion (C, R) for each candidate mode, where C represent pixels in a current source frame, R represent pixels in a reconstructed frame, and the distortion value Distortion (C, R) may be an SAD value, an SATD value or an SSD value. Next, the conventional video coding design finds a best inter mode (e.g.,

$\left. {\min\limits_{{16 \times 16},{16 \times 8},{8 \times 16},{8 \times 8},{4 \times 8},{8 \times 4}}\left\{ {{Distortion}\left( {C,R} \right)} \right\}} \right),$

finds a best intra 16×16 mode

$\left. {\min\limits_{{{}_{}^{}{}_{}^{}}16 \times 16\mspace{11mu} {modes}}\left\{ {{Distortion}\left( {C,R} \right)} \right\}} \right),$

finds a best intra 4×4 mode (e.g.,

$\left. {\min\limits_{{{}_{}^{}{}_{}^{}}4 \times 4\mspace{11mu} {modes}}\left\{ {{Distortion}\left( {C,R} \right)} \right\}} \right),$

finds a best intra mode (e.g., min (best intra 4×4 mode, best intra 16×16 mode)), and finally decides a best video coding mode for the coding unit (e.g., min (best intra mode, best inter mode)). In contrast to the conventional video coding design, the present invention proposes using the evaluated visual quality VQ(C or R′) derived from data involved in the coding loop of the coding unit 102 to find the best video coding mode for a coding unit, where each evaluated visual quality VQ(C or R′) for each candidate mode may be obtained by a single visual quality metric or a composition of multiple visual quality metrics, C represents raw data of the source frame IMG_(IN), and R′ represents processed data derived from raw data of the source frame IMG_(IN).

Preferably, the splitting module 111 finds a best inter mode (e.g.,

$\left. {\underset{{16 \times 16},{16 \times 8},{8 \times 16},{8 \times 8},{4 \times 8},{8 \times 4}}{best}\left\{ {{VQ}\left( {C\mspace{14mu} {or}\mspace{14mu} R^{\prime}} \right)} \right\}} \right),$

finds a best intra 16×16 mode (e.g.,

$\left. {\underset{{{}_{}^{}{}_{}^{}}16 \times 16\mspace{11mu} {modes}}{best}\left\{ {{VQ}\left( {C\mspace{14mu} {or}\mspace{14mu} R^{\prime}} \right)} \right\}} \right),$

finds a best intra 4×4 mode (e.g.,

$\left. {\underset{{{}_{}^{}{}_{}^{}}4 \times 4\mspace{11mu} {modes}}{best}\left\{ {{VQ}\left( {C\mspace{14mu} {or}\mspace{14mu} R^{\prime}} \right)} \right\}} \right),$

finds a best intra mode (e.g., min (best intra 4×4 mode, best intra 16×16 mode)), and finally determines a best video coding mode for the coding unit (e.g., min (best intra mode, best inter mode)). Briefly summarized, the operation of referring to the evaluated visual quality for deciding the target configuration of the coding unit at the splitting module 111 may include: deciding a best mode from different intra modes of the coding unit; deciding a best mode from different inter modes of the coding unit; and/or deciding that the coding unit is an intra-mode coding unit or an inter-mode coding unit.

Alternatively, both of the evaluated visual quality (e.g., VQ(C or R′)) and the pixel-based distortion (e.g., Distortion (C, R)) maybe involved in deciding the best video coding mode for a coding unit. For example, the splitting module 111 refers to the evaluated visual quality and the calculated pixel-based distortion to find a best inter mode (e.g., one of

$\left. {{\underset{{16 \times 16},{16 \times 8},{8 \times 16},{8 \times 8},{4 \times 8},{8 \times 4}}{best}\left\{ {{VQ}\left( {C\mspace{14mu} {or}\mspace{14mu} R^{\prime}} \right)} \right\}}{and}{\min\limits_{{16 \times 16},{16 \times 8},{8 \times 16},{8 \times 8},{4 \times 8},{8 \times 4}}\left\{ {{Distortion}\left( {C,R} \right)} \right\}}} \right),$

find a best intra 16×16 mode (e.g., one of

$\left. {{\underset{{{}_{}^{}{}_{}^{}}16 \times 16\mspace{11mu} {modes}}{best}\left\{ {{VQ}\left( {C\mspace{14mu} {or}\mspace{14mu} R^{\prime}} \right)} \right\}}{and}{\min\limits_{{{}_{}^{}{}_{}^{}}16 \times 16\mspace{11mu} {modes}}\left\{ {{Distortion}\left( {C,R} \right)} \right\}}} \right),$

find a best intra 4×4 mode (e.g., one of

$\left. {{\underset{{{}_{}^{}{}_{}^{}}4 \times 4\mspace{11mu} {modes}}{best}\left\{ {{VQ}\left( {C\mspace{14mu} {or}\mspace{14mu} R^{\prime}} \right)} \right\}}{and}{\min\limits_{{{}_{}^{}{}_{}^{}}4 \times 4\mspace{11mu} {modes}}\left\{ {{Distortion}\left( {C,R} \right)} \right\}}} \right),$

find a best intra mode (e.g., min (best intra 4×4 mode, best intra 16×16 mode)), and finally determine a best video coding mode for the coding unit (e.g., min (best intra mode, best inter mode)).

For another example, the splitting module 111 performs a coarse decision according to one of the evaluated visual quality and the calculated pixel-based distortion to determine a plurality of coarse configuration settings for a coding unit, and performs a fine decision according to another of the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion to determine at least one fine configuration setting from the coarse configuration settings, wherein the target configuration for the coding unit is derived from the at least one fine configuration setting. Taking the video coding modes for the coding unit as specified in an H.264 standard for example, the evaluated visual quality may be used to find M coarse configuration settings for a coding unit, such as some inter modes, some intra 4×4 modes and/or some intra 16×16 modes, from all possible N candidate configuration settings, and then the pixel-based distortion may be used to selected P fine configuration settings for the coding unit (N>M & M>P≧1) from inter modes, intra 4×4 modes and/or intra 16×16 modes selected based on the evaluated visual quality. In a case where P=1, a best video coding mode for the coding unit is determined by the fine decision based on the pixel-based distortion. In an alternative design, the pixel-based distortion may be used to find M coarse configuration settings for a coding unit, such as some inter modes, some intra 4×4 modes and/or some intra 16×16 modes, from all possible N candidate configuration settings, and then the evaluated visual quality may be used to selected P fine configuration settings for the coding unit (N>M & M>P≧1) from inter modes, intra 4×4 modes and/or intra 16×16 modes selected based on the pixel-based distortion. In a case where P=1, a best video coding mode for the coding unit is determined by the fine decision based on the evaluated visual quality.

Concerning the intra prediction module 123/inter prediction module 122, the evaluated visual quality (each is determined based on a single visual quality metric or a composition of multiple visual quality metrics) may be referenced to decide a best video coding mode for a prediction unit. Taking the video coding modes for a prediction unit as specified in an HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) standard for example, the intra prediction include two partition modes for the prediction unit, and the inter prediction includes eight partition modes for the prediction unit, as shown in FIG. 5. The conventional video coding design calculates a distortion value Distortion (C, R) for each candidate mode, where C represent pixels in a current source frame, R represent pixels in a reconstructed frame, and the distortion value Distortion (C, R) may be an SAD value, an SATD value or an SSD value. Next, the conventional video coding design decides the configuration of a prediction unit by finding a best video coding mode with a smallest distortion value among distortion values of the candidate modes. In contrast to the conventional video coding design, the present invention proposes using the evaluated visual quality VQ (C or R′) derived from data involved in the coding loop of the coding unit 102 to find a best video coding mode for a prediction unit, where each evaluated visual quality VQ(C or R′) may be a single visual quality metric or a composition of multiple visual quality metrics, C represents raw data of the source frame IMG_(IN), and R′ represents processed data derived from raw data of the source frame IMG_(IN). Briefly summarized, the operation of referring to the evaluated visual quality for deciding the target configuration of the prediction unit at the intra prediction module 123/inter prediction module 122 may include: deciding a size of the prediction unit; and/or deciding that the prediction unit is a symmetric prediction unit or an asymmetric prediction unit.

Alternatively, both of the evaluated visual quality (e.g., VQ(C or R′)) and the pixel-based distortion (e.g., Distortion (C, R)) may be involved in deciding the best video coding mode for a prediction unit. For example, the intra prediction module 123/inter prediction module 122 refers to the evaluated visual quality to find a first video coding mode with best visual quality, refers to the calculated pixel-based distortion to find a second video coding mode with smallest distortion, and selects one of the first video coding mode and the second video coding mode as the best video coding mode for the prediction unit. For another example, the intra prediction module 123/inter prediction module 122 performs a coarse decision according to one of the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion to determine a plurality of coarse configuration settings for a prediction unit, and performs a fine decision according to another of the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion to determine at least one fine configuration setting from the coarse configuration settings, wherein the target configuration for the prediction unit is derived from the at least one fine configuration setting.

Concerning the transform module 123, the evaluated visual quality (each is determined based on a single visual quality metric or a composition of multiple visual quality metrics) maybe referenced to decide a best video coding mode for a transform unit. Taking the video coding modes for a transform unit as specified in an HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) standard for example, the transform unit includes several partition modes as shown in FIG. 6. The conventional video coding design calculates a distortion value Distortion (C, R) for each candidate mode, where C represent pixels in a current source frame, R represent pixels in a reconstructed frame, and the distortion value Distortion (C, R) may be an SAD value, an SATD value or an SSD value. Next, the conventional video coding design decides the configuration of a transform unit by finding a best mode with a smallest distortion value among distortion values of the candidate modes. In contrast to the conventional video coding design, the present invention proposes using the evaluated visual quality VQ(C or R′) derived from data involved in the coding loop of the coding unit 102 to find a best video coding mode for a transform unit, where each evaluated visual quality VQ(C or R′) may be a single visual quality metric or a composition of multiple visual quality metrics, C represents raw data of the source frame IMG_(IN), and R′ represents processed data derived from raw data of the source frame IMG_(IN). Briefly summarized, the operation of referring to the evaluated visual quality for deciding the target configuration of the transform unit at the transform module 113 may include: deciding a size of the transform unit; deciding a quad-tree depth of the transform unit; and/or deciding that the transform unit is a residual quad-tree (RQT) transform unit or a non-square quad-tree (NSQT) transform unit.

Alternatively, both of the evaluated visual quality (e.g., VQ(C or R′)) and the pixel-based distortion (e.g., Distortion (C, R)) may be involved in deciding a best video coding mode for a transform unit. For example, the transform module 113 refers to the evaluated visual quality to find a first video coding mode with best visual quality, refers to the calculated pixel-based distortion to find a second video coding mode with smallest distortion, and selects one of the first video coding mode and the second video coding mode as the best video coding mode for the transform unit. For another example, the transform module 113 performs a coarse decision according to one of the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion to determine a plurality of coarse configuration settings for a transform unit, and performs a fine decision according to another of the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion to determine at least one fine configuration setting from the coarse configuration settings, wherein the target configuration for the prediction unit is derived from the at least one fine configuration setting.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a video coding method according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Provided that the result is substantially the same, the steps are not required to be executed in the exact order shown in FIG. 7. The video coding method may be briefly summarized as below.

Step 700: Start.

Step 702: Evaluate visual quality based on data involved in a coding loop, wherein the data involved in the coding loop may be raw data of a source frame or processed data derived from the raw data of the source frame, and each evaluated visual quality may be obtained from a single visual quality metric or a composition of multiple visual quality metrics.

Step 704: Check if pixel-based distortion should be used for video coding mode decision. If yes, go to step 706; otherwise, go to step 710.

Step 706: Calculate the pixel-based distortion based on at least a portion of raw data of the source frame and at least a portion of processed data derived from the raw data of the source frame.

Step 708: Refer to both of the evaluated visual quality and the calculated pixel-based distortion for deciding a target configuration of at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit. Go to step 712.

Step 710: Refer to the evaluated visual quality for deciding a target configuration of at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit.

Step 712: End.

As a person skilled in the art can readily understand details of each step in FIG. 7 after reading above paragraphs, further description is omitted here for brevity.

As mentioned above, the evaluated visual quality determined by the visual quality evaluation module 104 can be used to determine a target configuration of at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit. However, this is not meant to be a limitation of the present invention. In a second application, the coding circuit 102 may be arranged to refer to the aforementioned visual quality determined by the visual quality evaluation module 104 for deciding target coding parameter(s) associated with at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit in video coding, where the evaluated visual quality in this case may provide visual quality information for candidate video coding modes, the coding unit may be configured at the splitting module 111, the transform unit may be configured at the transform module 113, and the prediction unit maybe configured at the intra prediction module 123/inter prediction module 122. By way of example, but not limitation, the target coding parameter(s) may include a quantization parameter (which is used by quantization module 114 and inverse quantization module 116) and/or a transform parameter (which is used by transform module 113 and inverse transform module 117). In addition, the target coding parameter(s) set based on the evaluated visual quality may be included in the bitstream BS generated by encoding the source frame IMG_(IN). That is, the target coding parameter(s) can be transmitted to a video decoding apparatus to facilitate the decoder-side video processing operation. As the visual quality evaluation performed by the visual quality evaluation module 104 has been detailed above, further description directed to obtaining the evaluated visual quality based on one or more visual quality metrics is omitted here for brevity.

In an alternative design, both of the evaluated visual quality (which is obtained based on data involved in the coding loop) and the pixel-based distortion (which is generated based on at least a portion of raw data of the source frame IMG_(IN) and at least a portion of processed data derived from the raw data of the source frame IMG_(IN)) are used to decide target coding parameter(s) associated with at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit in video coding, wherein the evaluated visual quality in this case may provide visual quality information for candidate video coding modes, and the calculated pixel-based distortion in this case may provide distortion information for candidate video coding modes. For example, the transform module 113 refers to the evaluated visual quality to decide a first transform parameter setting with best visual quality, refers to the calculated pixel-based distortion to decide a second transform parameter setting with smallest distortion, and selects one of the first transform parameter setting and the second transform parameter setting to set the transform parameter. Similarly, the quantization module 114 refers to the evaluated visual quality to decide a first quantization parameter setting with best visual quality, refers to the calculated pixel-based distortion to decide a second quantization parameter setting with smallest distortion, and selects one of the first quantization parameter setting and the second quantization parameter setting to set the quantization parameter.

For another example, the transform module 113 performs a coarse decision according to one of the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion to determine a plurality of coarse parameter settings for a transform parameter, and performs a fine decision according to another of the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion to determine at least one fine parameter setting from the coarse parameter settings, wherein a target coding parameter (i.e., the transform parameter) is derived from the at least one fine parameter setting. Similarly, the quantization module 114 performs a coarse decision according to one of the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion to determine a plurality of coarse parameter settings for a quantization parameter, and performs a fine decision according to another of the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion to determine at least one fine parameter setting from the coarse parameter settings, wherein a target coding parameter (i.e., the quantization parameter) is derived from the at least one fine parameter setting.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a video coding method according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Provided that the result is substantially the same, the steps are not required to be executed in the exact order shown in FIG. 8. The video coding method may be briefly summarized as below.

Step 800: Start.

Step 802: Evaluate visual quality based on data involved in a coding loop, wherein the data involved in the coding loop may be raw data of a source frame or processed data derived from the raw data of the source frame, and each evaluated visual quality may be obtained from a single visual quality metric or a composition of multiple visual quality metrics.

Step 804: Check if pixel-based distortion should be used for coding parameter decision. If yes, go to step 806; otherwise, go to step 810.

Step 806: Calculate the pixel-based distortion based on at least a portion of raw data of the source frame and at least a portion of processed data derived from the raw data of the source frame.

Step 808: Refer to both of the evaluated visual quality and the calculated pixel-based distortion for deciding a target coding parameter (e.g., a quantization parameter or a transform parameter) associated with at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit in video coding. Go to step 812.

Step 810: Refer to the evaluated visual quality for deciding a target coding parameter (e.g., a quantization parameter or a transform parameter) associated with at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit in video coding.

Step 812: End.

As a person skilled in the art can readily understand details of each step in FIG. 8 after reading above paragraphs, further description is omitted here for brevity.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A video coding method, comprising: utilizing a visual quality evaluation module for evaluating visual quality based on data involved in a coding loop; and referring to at least the evaluated visual quality for deciding a target configuration of at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit.
 2. The video coding method of claim 1, wherein the data involved in the coding loop is raw data of a source frame.
 3. The video coding method of claim 1, wherein the data involved in the coding loop is processed data derived from raw data of a source frame.
 4. The video coding method of claim 3, wherein the processed data includes transformed coefficients, quantized coefficients, reconstructed pixel data, motion-compensated pixel data, or intra-predicted pixel data.
 5. The video coding method of claim 1, wherein the evaluated visual quality is derived from checking at least one image characteristic that affects human visual perception, and the at least one image characteristic includes sharpness, noise, blur, edge, dynamic range, blocking artifact, mean intensity, color temperature, scene composition, human face, animal presence, image content that attracts more or less interest, spatial masking, temporal masking, or frequency masking.
 6. The video coding method of claim 1, wherein the step of evaluating the visual quality comprises: calculating a single visual quality metric according to the data involved in the coding loop; and determining each evaluated visual quality solely based on the single visual quality metric.
 7. The video coding method of claim 1, wherein the step of evaluating the visual quality comprises: calculating a plurality of distinct visual quality metrics according to the data involved in the coding loop; and determining each evaluated visual quality based on the distinct visual quality metrics.
 8. The video coding method of claim 7, wherein the step of determining each evaluated visual quality based on the distinct visual quality metrics comprises: determining a plurality of weighting factors; and determining each evaluated visual quality by combining the distinct visual quality metrics according to the weighting factors.
 9. The video coding method of claim 8, wherein the weighting factors are determined by training.
 10. The video coding method of claim 1, wherein the step of deciding the target configuration of at least one of the coding unit, the transform unit and the prediction unit comprises: deciding a best mode from different intra modes of the coding unit; deciding a best mode from different inter modes of the coding unit; or deciding that the coding unit is an intra-mode coding unit or an inter-mode coding unit.
 11. The video coding method of claim 1, wherein the step of deciding the target configuration of at least one of the coding unit, the transform unit and the prediction unit comprises: deciding a size of the prediction unit; or deciding that the prediction unit is a symmetric prediction unit or an asymmetric prediction unit.
 12. The video coding method of claim 1, wherein the step of deciding the target configuration of at least one of the coding unit, the transform unit and the prediction unit comprises: deciding a size of the transform unit; deciding a quad-tree depth of the transform unit; or deciding that the transform unit is a residual quad-tree (RQT) transform unit or a non-square quad-tree (NSQT) transform unit.
 13. The video coding method of claim 1, further comprising: calculating pixel-based distortion based on at least a portion of raw data of a source frame and at least a portion of processed data derived from the raw data of the source frame; wherein the step of deciding the target configuration of at least one of the coding unit, the transform unit and the prediction unit comprises: deciding the target configuration of at least one of the coding unit, the transform unit and the prediction unit according to the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion.
 14. The video coding method of claim 13, wherein the step of deciding the target configuration of at least one of the coding unit, the transform unit and the prediction unit according to the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion comprises: performing a coarse decision according to one of the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion to determine a plurality of coarse configuration settings; and performing a fine decision according to another of the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion to determine at least one fine configuration setting from the coarse configuration settings, wherein the target configuration is derived from the at least one fine configuration setting.
 15. A video coding method, comprising: utilizing a visual quality evaluation module for evaluating visual quality based on data involved in a coding loop; and referring to at least the evaluated visual quality for deciding a target coding parameter associated with at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit in video coding.
 16. The video coding method of claim 15, wherein the target coding parameter is a quantization parameter or a transform parameter.
 17. The video coding method of claim 15, wherein the data involved in the coding loop is raw data of a source frame.
 18. The video coding method of claim 15, wherein the data involved in the coding loop is processed data derived from raw data of a source frame.
 19. The video coding method of claim 18, wherein the processed data includes transformed coefficients, quantized coefficients, reconstructed pixel data, motion-compensated pixel data, or intra-predicted pixel data.
 20. The video coding method of claim 15, wherein the evaluated visual quality is derived from checking at least one image characteristic that affects human visual perception, and the at least one image characteristic includes sharpness, noise, blur, edge, dynamic range, blocking artifact, mean intensity, color temperature, scene composition, human face, animal presence, image content that attracts more or less interest, spatial masking, temporal masking, or frequency masking.
 21. The video coding method of claim 15, wherein the step of evaluating the visual quality comprises: calculating a single visual quality metric according to the data involved in the coding loop; and determining each evaluated visual quality solely based on the single visual quality metric.
 22. The video coding method of claim 15, wherein the step of evaluating the visual quality comprises: calculating a plurality of distinct visual quality metrics according to the data involved in the coding loop; and determining each evaluated visual quality based on the distinct visual quality metrics.
 23. The video coding method of claim 22, wherein the step of determining each evaluated visual quality based on the distinct visual quality metrics comprises: determining a plurality of weighting factors; and determining each evaluated visual quality by combining the distinct visual quality metrics according to the weighting factors.
 24. The video coding method of claim 23, wherein the weighting factors are determined by training.
 25. The video coding method of claim 15, further comprising: calculating pixel-based distortion based on at least a portion of raw data of a source frame and at least a portion of processed data derived from the raw data of the source frame; wherein the step of deciding the target coding parameter comprises: deciding the target coding parameter according to the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion.
 26. The video coding method of claim 25, wherein the step of deciding the target coding parameter according to the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion comprises: performing a coarse decision according to one of the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion to determine a plurality of coarse parameter settings; and performing a fine decision according to another of the evaluated visual quality and the pixel-based distortion to determine at least one fine parameter setting from the coarse parameter settings, wherein the target coding parameter is derived from the at least one fine parameter setting.
 27. The video coding method of claim 15, wherein the target coding parameter is included in a bitstream generated by encoding a source frame.
 28. A video coding apparatus, comprising: a visual quality evaluation module, arranged to evaluate visual quality based on data involved in a coding loop; and a coding circuit, comprising the coding loop, the coding circuit arranged to refer to at least the evaluated visual quality for deciding a target configuration of at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit.
 29. A video coding apparatus, comprising: a visual quality evaluation module, arranged to evaluate visual quality based on data involved in a coding loop; and a coding circuit, comprising the coding loop, the coding circuit arranged to refer to at least the evaluated visual quality for deciding a target coding parameter associated with at least one of a coding unit, a transform unit and a prediction unit in video coding. 